On special at Asda, the world's most expensive beef

It's the red meat of choice for those with deep pockets - but it may not be as rare a treat for much longer.

For the first time, Wagyu beef is to be produced in Britain for a High Street supermarket.

The Japanese meat is renowned for its extensive fat marbling which melts as it cooks, giving superb depth of flavour.

Top class cow: Inochi the calf is the key to British Wagyu beef, which Asda hopes to be selling in store by next year

The cattle in Japan are the most pampered in the world. They are massaged, fed the finest grain, and even given beer and played classical music as part of a regime to keep them relaxed.

However, their cousins who will be bred here for Asda can forget about all that. The store claims the distinctive meat is the result of genetics, rather than massage and a beer diet, so those techniques will not be used.

The massaging was introduced to prevent muscle cramping on small farms in Japan where the animals did not have sufficient room to move around. To date Wagyu beef has been the preserve of Michelin star restaurants, a gourmet treat only available to those with big wallets.

But Asda claims its ambitious plans will deliver Wagyu to the plates of the nation at around one third of the price charged in Japan, which is typically more than £150 a kilo.

An eight ounce steak from Asda will probably cost around £12 - a fillet steak of the same size costs around £5.50.

A tiny four-day-old calf called Inochi holds the key to the venture. Asda claim Inochi, who was born on Sunday on a farm in Dumfries, is the first Wagyu to be born in the UK.

However, it is known that farms in Wales, other parts of Britain and Ireland are also developing herds.

The birth was made possible thanks to semen sourced from small herds of rare Imperial Japanese Wagyu cattle. A Holstein cow in this country was artificially inseminated with the semen, resulting in the birth of Inochi.

Asda meat spokesman Pearce Hughes said: 'We want to make Wagyu beef affordable for the average man on the street. If it's good enough for millionaires, then it's good enough for everyone.'

Asda said its suppliers are planning to establish small herds of pure bred Wagyu cattle who will be used to cross-breed with milking cows, such as the Holsteins, to deliver the finest beef.

Selfridges caused a stir two years ago with the launch of the world's most expensive sandwich using Wagyu beef and carrying a price tag of £85. Asda is hoping that the first of its Wagyu beef will be available by the end of next year or early in 2011.